July 28, 2022 · less than 3 min read
In trying to keep up with TikTok, the social platform has lost its way.
No feels for reels
If over the past few months, you’ve felt a pang of frustration while scrolling Instagram – the endless advertisements, reels from accounts you don’t follow – it’s now become clear that you’re not the only one losing patience. Right now, it’s Insta versus the world.
The social platform, owned by Zuckerberg’s Meta, is being accused by everyone, from Kylie Jenner and Kim K to moody teenagers, of “trying to be TikTok”. So much so, that a petition to “make Instagram Instagram” again has received (at the time of writing) more than 180,000 signatures, along with 1.6 million likes. And of course, if Kylie Jenner doesn’t like your updates, then it won’t be long before her army of 361 million followers (at the time of writing) start piping up, too. Then you’re in trouble.
Defending the indefensible
Instagram has been quick to respond to the backlash. Adam Mosseri, head of the platform, posted a video on Twitter outlining the changes, and why the ‘gram is aiming to be more video-focused. He also said that the recommendations, which are plaguing feeds at the moment, are supposed to be helping users discover new content. But what if we don’t want to discover new content, Adam? Did you think about that?!
Beneath it all, much of the frustration lies in users being shown adverts and ‘suggestions’, rather than the content they signed up for. As the viral petition said, “Stop trying to be TikTok I just want to see cute photos of my friends”.
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